The Pilgrim Story — the hazardous voyage, the 1620 landing, the fearful first winter, the First Thanksgiving at Plymouth — is the founding story of America. This dramatic saga of courage and perseverance has inspired the American people throughout the nation’s history. It has been depicted through monumental history paintings, ranging from Henry Sargent’s heroic 13’x16’ Landing of the Pilgrims to Jennie Brownscombe’s First Thanksgiving. The true story behind these images is even more heroic. Pilgrim Hall Museum, in the center of historic Plymouth, Massachusetts, wants to share that story with you.

The nation’s oldest continuously operating public museum, Pilgrim Hall Museum houses an unmatched collection of Pilgrim possessions telling the story of brave and determined men and women building lives and homes for themselves and their children in a new world. See William Bradford’s Bible, Myles Standish’s sword, the only portrait of a Pilgrim (Edward Winslow) painted from life, the cradle of New England’s first–born, Peregrine White, the great chair of William Brewster, and the earliest sampler made in America, embroidered by Myles Standish’s daughter.

At Pilgrim Hall Museum, you will also learn the story of the Wampanoag, "People of the Dawn," the Native People who inhabited this area for 10,000 years before the arrival of the new settlers and who are still here today. The story of the interrelationship between the Wampanoag and Colonial settlers continues through the disastrous conflict of the 1670s, known as King Philip's War.

Come, explore, and learn the history behind the story today. Many items in the navigation bar to the left expand to show additional pages. You can also use the Search PHM Site window to the right to find anything on our site. We've placed a similar search window near the top of all other Pilgrim Hall Museum site pages.